Bustling and buzzing, the market street known as Sharia Al Muski begins in the khan where it's formally called Sharia Gawhar Al Qaid and is lined by tacky souvenir stalls. But further west, once you've crossed Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah, it reverts to a local scene, lined with carts selling cheap shoes, plastic toys, fireworks, bucket-sized bras and some truly shocking lingerie.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.01 MILES
The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…
1.58 MILES
One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…
12.5 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
0.6 MILES
With funds from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, what had been a mountain of garbage, amassed over centuries, was in 2005, almost miraculously, transformed…
0.2 MILES
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…
0.06 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
3.38 MILES
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…
2.2 MILES
After a years'-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once…
Nearby Cairo attractions
0.05 MILES
This tiny alley is Islamic Cairo's literary star thanks to being immortalised in Naguib Mahfouz's famous novel named after the street. Although the…
2. Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah
0.06 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
0.09 MILES
The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops – many arranged around small courtyards – stocks…
4. Mosque-Madrassa of Al Ghouri
0.11 MILES
On the western side of Sharia Al Muizz, opposite the mausoleum, is the second part of Al Ghouri's funerary complex, the intimate and richly decorated…
0.11 MILES
The penultimate Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri built his funerary complex in 1504, on both sides of Sharia Al Muizz. At the age of 78, Al Ghouri was beheaded in…
6. Madrassa & Mausoleum of As Salih Ayyub
0.11 MILES
This complex was built between 1242 and 1244 by the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Al Salih Najm Al Din Ayyub, who died defending Egypt against the…
7. Madrassa & Mausoleum of Qalaun
0.11 MILES
Built in just 13 months, the 1279 Madrassa and Mausoleum of Qalaun is both the earliest and the most splendid of the vast religious complexes on this…
0.13 MILES
The street between Al Ghouri’s mosque and the mausoleum, and the area around, was historically the city’s silk market. While it isn’t a particularly great…